With a roll of thin plastic diffraction grating and some "stolen" sunlight, artist and exhibit developer Pete Stephens transformed the interior of the Palace of Fine Arts into a dazzling riot of spectral color. As he works to recreate the effect at the new Exploratorium at Pier 15, Stephens recounts the challenges—and the inspiration—of this expansive experiment in light.

XTech at the Exploratorium empowers high school students through the practical use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. Students develop skills - designing and building, creating media, and facilitating community education events - that will lead them into college and beyond.
In this show, we will be investigating lasers. Did you know that that LASER was an acronym? It stands for Light Amplification Stimulated by the Emission of Radiation. Join us in learning how a laser works, as well as a real world application for lasers, and finally, how they can create stunning light patterns.

XTech at the Exploratorium empowers high school students through the practical use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. Students develop skills - designing and building, creating media, and facilitating community education events - that will lead them into college and beyond.
In this show, we will be investigating color. There are colors all around us. Join us and explore the relationship between color and light. Watch as we create colored shadows and trick your mind with colors.

Newton wasn’t really ready to believe that light was a wave, and so he didn’t see what was in front of his eyes. Staff physicist Paul Doherty tells how to do the same experiment that Newton did back in the 1650s to see the wave nature of light.

Most things won't burn on Mars—after all, the main ingredient in the Martian atmosphere, carbon dioxide, is used in fire extinguishers on earth. So how would one create fire without oxygen? Use metal!This slow motion footage shows magnesium burning within a block of dry ice.

Webcasts made possible through
the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark
Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation,.and the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).